Paul Skenes is ready for his moment on the national stage.
The Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher announced some big news on Tuesday. During a television appearance on MLB Network, Skenes announced that he intends to pitch for Team USA Baseball at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
"If I ever get the chance to do this I'm never saying no…"
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 13, 2025
Paul Skenes is ALL IN for Team USA 🇺🇸 https://t.co/1w5yZscqEv pic.twitter.com/1UdpyyXOks
Team USA also posted about the exciting news on their official X page.
PAUL. SKENES.
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) May 13, 2025
The three-time alum will play for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Vnm8vEMIau
Skenes, 22, has already suited up for Team USA multiple times before, albeit at the amateur level. He was a member of the silver medal-winning 12U National Team at the COPABE Pan American Championships back in 2014. Skenes was later on Team USA’s Collegiate National Team roster in 2021 and 2022 as well.
But Skenes, who made his MLB debut in May 2024, was not yet a big-leaguer during the previous World Baseball Classic in 2023. Team USA won the silver medal that year (falling in an all-time classic of a gold medal game against Japan), and now they will have Skenes around in 2026 to try to help improve their standing.
For the Pirates this season, Skenes owns a 2.63 ERA with 53 strikeouts over nine total starts but is doing so on a 14-28 team. Skenes is not hiding from the fact that Pittsburgh stinks this year, but he at least should be getting his chance to compete for the mountaintop next year with Team USA.
